Can “Peter Pan” be saved?
Of course, the “boy who wouldn’t grow up” from J.M. Barrie’s 1904 play will inevitably triumph, but could the story itself fade from view, a victim of outdated stereotypes about women and indigenous people? Could the 1954 musical — and a TV version that was once the most watched program in history — become forgotten artifacts of a bygone era?
Not if the new adaptation that premiered Thursday night at the Ordway Music Theater has a say. The musical has been updated by South Dakota-raised playwright Larissa FastHorse, a Lakota woman who seems clear-eyed about Barrie’s blind spots. She’s helped fashion a tremendously enjoyable musical comedy that sparkles like fairy dust in its high-energy debut.
After nine days of smoothing out the kinks during previews, NETworks Presentations’ production looks more than ready for its 19-city, nine-month North American tour. And it’s to local audiences’ advantage that it’s being presented alongside the winter wonderland that is St. Paul’s glistening Rice Park, arguably the Twin Cities’ most beautiful square block this December. (Kudos to the Ordway’s interior decorators, too.)
This “Peter Pan” succeeds in improving upon the best elements of Jerome Robbins’ mid-’50s musical take on the tale and its many memorable tunes from the pens of Moose Charlap and Jule Styne (with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, Betty Comden and Adolph Green). It even restores a few songs excised from the original, each proving a fine addition that drives the story forward.
Edwardian-era England is left behind, taking us to the home of a modern American family with three smart, curious children, a careerist father and a mother concerned about this boy who seems to be lurking outside their second-story window during her bedtime stories.
That would be Peter Pan, who’s looking to recover his lost shadow and, having done so, teaches the kids to fly and takes them to his island home of Neverland. There, they join his band of “lost boys” as they sort out conflicts with the island’s indigenous people and fend off raiding buccaneers.
Director Lonny Price’s staging asks a lot of the cast and crew, and everyone makes a shining contribution to its success. Standouts include Lorin Latarro’s clever choreography, the exhilarating wired-up flying sequences — here soaring into David Bengali’s animated projections — and Anna Louizos’ elaborate set designs.
While the performances are uniformly strong, the production’s driving forces are the exceptional performances of Nolan Almeida as Peter and Cody Garcia as Hook.
Peter Pan has traditionally been played by a woman, but Almeida brings an adolescent boy’s believable square-shouldered swagger to him — his accent suggests that of a Philadelphia street tough — with a touch of sexual tension vis-a-vis Hawa Kamara’s Wendy. Add to that a wonderfully versatile singing voice and this young actor looks to have a tremendously bright career ahead of him.
It’s to his credit that he doesn’t let Garcia waltz away with the show. For that actor’s Captain Hook is a hoot, sporting an engaging Scottish brogue and an infectious sense of fun that helps keep the Captain from seeming too scary to younger patrons.
And do bring the kids: This is a very family-friendly show. Yet those of any age should find it a sweet and satisfying holiday confection.
Rob Hubbard can be reached at wordhub@yahoo.com.
NETworks Presentations’ ‘Peter Pan’
When: Through Dec. 31
Where: Ordway Music Theater, 345 Washington St., St. Paul
Tickets: $163.50-$45.50, available at 651-224-4222 or ordway.org
Capsule: This new adaptation simply soars.
